Stories of Tzadikim - Baba Sali and Rav Mordechai Eliyahu

Stories of Tzadikim

Baba Sali and Rav Mordechai Eliyahu Annulment of Harsh Decrees  The soul of Rav Mordechai Eliyahu was bound to the soul of Baba Sali. One of many stories reveals their joint efforts to annul harsh decrees against the Jewish people. One evening, a rabbi who lived in the south of the country stopped at Rav Mordechai Eliyahu's home, and after some time he intended to return to his own home. Rav Mordechai Eliyahu suggested to his wife that they and their guest travel to Netivot to visit Baba Sali, and then return home to Jerusalem by bus. The rabbi agreed and said that they had to catch the bus departing from Netivot for Ramla at eight in the evening in order to catch the last bus departing from Ramla for Jerusalem at eleven at night. The rabbanim approached Baba Sali's home and knocked on the door. Baba Sali's wife opened the door, but scolded them, saying that Baba Sali would not be able to receive them. Within seconds, they heard Baba Sali's voice: “Let Mordechai come in; I have been waiting for him for several days.” Baba Sali's wife told them about Baba Sali's week-long fast and seclusion because of a harsh decree against the Jewish people, and that he had been working to annul it. After a brief period of seclusion in his room, Baba Sali emerged with a radiant face and instructed his wife: “Prepare food; the decree has been annulled. We will eat together with our guests.” The Rabbanit served the guests an elaborate meal, and everyone thanked G-d for the annulment of the harsh decree. Rabbi Eliyahu noticed that time was passing and that they might miss the bus home. When it was half past six, the rabbi signaled to Rabbi Eliyahu that they should hurry to catch the eight o'clock bus departing from Netivot for Ramla, and from there they had to catch the last bus to Jerusalem. “Tell the rabbi not to worry; the bus will arrive in Jerusalem on time,” Baba Sali said when he noticed Rabbi Eliyahu's concern. The meal continued for a long time, but Baba Sali's words were full of confidence, and he believed that they would manage to board the bus to Jerusalem, just as the tzadik had promised. At half past eight, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu and the rabbi left Baba Sali's home and realized that they had already missed the bus that was supposed to have departed for Ramla at eight. “Let's take the late bus to Ramla and see what happens there,” said Rav Mordechai. The rabbi agreed, but complained that “the bus leaving now will arrive in Ramla only at half past ten, half an hour after the last bus departs from Ramla for Jerusalem. It makes no sense.” “We'll try,” Rav Mordechai replied. “We'll see what happens with the Jerusalem bus that was supposed to leave at eleven.” They arrived at the station in Ramla and were astonished to see the bus to Jerusalem standing there, as though it were waiting for their arrival. They approached the bus and asked the driver whether they could board. “There's no point,” the driver replied. “The bus hasn't started for half an hour.” “Unless one of you is Eliyahu the Prophet,” the driver added. “We are just like all the other passengers here,” the rabbanim told the driver, and boarded the bus. “Try starting it once more,” Rav Mordechai said confidently to the driver after they had taken their seats. The driver thought that one more attempt could do no harm, although hope was already at zero. Suddenly, the bus began to move, as though it had been waiting only for the pair to arrive. “Are you Eliyahu HaNavi?” the driver asked suspiciously. “No, I am Eliyahu Mordechai,” the Rav replied. Baba Sali's Bus When Baba Sali arrived by ship in Haifa, a car was waiting there to take him to Jerusalem, but Baba Sali did not want to take it and asked where the bus was. They showed him where the stop for Jerusalem was. The tzadik waited until the bus arrived, boarded it, and they traveled on and on. Suddenly, Baba Sali asked the driver to stop the bus—he needed to pray Mincha. The driver said that it was a direct bus to Jerusalem with no stops, and that he could not wait for anyone; if Baba Sali wished, he could get off. Baba Sali said, “All right, I will get off.” Baba Sali got off the bus, stepped aside, prayed Mincha, and asked passersby where the bus to Jerusalem was. They showed him where it stopped. The tzadik came to the stop and boarded the bus… The driver was familiar, and the passengers were the same. Baba Sali thought that the driver had waited for him. As soon as the tzadik sat down, the driver said to him: “Tell the bus to go—it won't start.” Baba Sali then said, “Let's go,” and the bus began to move. Rav Mordechai Eliyahu once asked Baba Sali whether it was true that everything had happened that way. Baba Sali said, “Yes—everyone knows this story.” Baba Sali's Watch Before he passed away, Baba Sali came to Rav Mordechai Eliyahu and gave him his “glima” (a hooded cloak), telling him: “Take my cloak. This is the cloak with which they will greet Mashiach. Before Mashiach comes, I will send you a sign.” Some time later, Baba Sali appeared in a dream to his son, Baba Baruch, and said to him: “Take my gold watch and give it to Rav Mordechai Eliyahu. This watch shows the date and time when Mashiach will come.” His son did as his father instructed. Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu was deeply moved. This was Baba Sali's signal that Mashiach was coming. Rabbanit Rachel Bazuk, granddaughter of Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, says that this watch shows nothing to anyone—it is “chasifat geulah”—but she had the honor of glimpsing it from the corner of her eye and can say that we are already be-geulah. A Refuah Shleimah Blessing When Baba Sali was ill and lying in the hospital before an operation, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu came to visit the tzadik, but the guard at the entrance to the ward would not allow the Rav to enter, following the doctors' orders. When Baba Sali found out, he told the guard to let the visitor in; he knew that this was Rav Mordechai Eliyahu. When the Rav entered, Tzadik Baba Sali asked him to pray for him and give him a blessing that he would not need surgery. A few days later, Baba Sali recovered and was discharged from the hospital. Rav Mordechai Eliyahu asked Baba Sali why the tzadik had asked him to give a bracha. Baba Sali told him that he had received from Hashem the keys to blessing the sick with healing, but that after him these keys would be passed on to him—Rav Mordechai Eliyahu.     (From the book “Al Chassidim Ve-al Tzadikim,” by Rabbi Chaim ben Shoshan, “Beit El,” based on the lessons of Rav Mordechai Eliyahu's granddaughter, Rabbanit Rachel Bazuk)